Northern Spain bike tours

[kgreene10]

I’m thinking of doing a weeklong tour through the Spanish Pyrénées with a fried. I know the country and some of the region. I speak fluent Spanish. My friend doesn’t and has never been to Spain.

Question 1 is whether there is value added to an organized tour instead of riding the same route self supported and with our own hotel reservations etc. I’ve never done a tour but also haven’t organized my own adventure like this either. I’m guessing the value added is in reducing stress, providing support if things go bad, and the social benefits of being in a group.

Question 2 is about tour companies. Any experiences, good or bad, in the Pyrénées? Pirenaica is cheap and I know someone who loved it years ago. Thomson and Trek cost more than double and frankly would be a real stretch financially. Thoughts?

[marciero]

Aside from any value proposition, these are two very different experiences. I like the aesthetic of doing self-supported tours-fully or credit card- including sorting out your gear, the route planning and logistics, lodging, and even carrying your own stuff. Another thing is the amount of hours in the saddle. For tours I like the sense of sort of living in the saddle, and generally ride all day long. You get "tuned to the trail", as a hiker once described it.
Most of the guided tours I've seen are like 4-5 hours/day.
On the other hand, I also think it would be fun to not worry about anything at all, ride a light bike, stay in luxe places, ride on fully-vetted routes, etc. Just a different experience.

[ultraman6970]

IMO what you want to do it needs support of some kind. car or motorcycle because get stranded going uphill and far away from anything (eventhought spain is small) will suck.

[eddief]

I have experienced one of their tours through the Bicycle Adventure Club, but they offer many that they do on their own. They know exactly what they're doing and have been doing it for years. The owner, Simon, is English but has lived in Spain a long time.

They offer both fully guided and self-guided tours. Self-guided includes hotels and luggage transport. Just bring a credit card.


https://www.iberocycle.com/

For example:

https://www.iberocycle.com/t/3500/green-valleys

[rain dogs]

I echo what Marciero says - two different experiences.

In terms of 'risk' doing your own self-guided tour is easier than ever. You have google maps etc (to check roads) you have Strava heat maps to see where locals ride, you have blogs to read about others' experiences, you have GPS computers to not get lost, you have cell phone coverage almost everywhere. None of that really existed in the same way even just 10 years ago.... my self-guided tours were already easier than ages ago... but now it's even easier.

There is hardly anymore risk than getting stranded 60miles from home, and arguably less, cause you'll pack more prepared I bet.

So, if that adventure and excitement sounds like it will ADD to your experience - go self guided.

If you just want to ride, but also want a holiday, you don't want to obsess about the details, you don't want to have to sort out your own routes, lodging, food etc, if you worry that may SUBTRACT from your experience - then lets the pros do it.

Self-guided tours/expeditions/routes etc are often about being a little more solitary, meditative and problem solving when those things occur. That can be fun if it's different than your daily life.

If your daily life is running from one fire to another, problem solving everyday, it might be nice to get away from that and just ride and relax and let people 'treat' you a little bit.

[oldpotatoe]

I’m thinking of doing a weeklong tour through the Spanish Pyrénées with a fried

Don't go fried, go sober....:)

[kgreene10]

Don't go fried, go sober....:)

Oops! I pecked out the message on my phone and ended up frying my friend!